Shipping and storage containers are well-known. Traditionally reusable and of steel manufacture, such containers meet ISO Standard 1161 and are American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) certified. They are typically used in intermodal shipping and are carried on ships, rail cars, trailers and the like. Containers vary significantly in size, shape and carrying capacity. By way of example only, such containers may range from about 20 to about 53 feet long, are typically about 8 feet wide and, for example, vary from about 8 feet to 10 feet, 6 inches tall. Such containers, when filled, typically weigh several tons, for example, depending on load.
Such containers are typically rectangular in shape and include, at each of their eight corners, a welded-on corner fitting as an integral member. Such corner fittings are in the form of block-like structures, relatively hollow, with apertures in the walls leading to the hollow cores.
A variety of fittings, lift hooks and other lift fittings, tie-down fittings and the like connect to the corner fittings through these apertures for lifting and securing the containers together or onto support surfaces on ship decks, rail cars, trailers and the like.
One source of weld-on corner fittings is Tandemloc, Inc. of Havelock, N.C.
Such containers are generally handled in large material handling and storage facilities, facilitated by cranes, forklifts, gantries and other capital intensive equipment. However, such containers may also be found and used in smaller facilities, where such expensive moving apparatus is not readily available.
In these other facilities, such containers may simply be pushed or slid over supporting surfaces such as wood decks, steel or aluminum decks or other surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, dirt or the like. Pushing, pulling or sliding such containers is difficult and can scrape, scar and damage these surfaces.
Accordingly, it is objective of the invention to provide apparatus to facilitate sliding of such containers over or across a surface.
A further objective has been to eliminate damage to a surface over which a container is slid.
A further objective has been to provide apparatus for moving a container over a surface without damage to the surface and without requiring cranes, gantries, forklifts or other capital intensive devices to lift the containers.